Fastener-type fully-foldable storage basket

ABSTRACT

This invention discloses a fastener-type, fully-foldable storage basket comprising a base plate and four panels, including, a left panel, a right panel, a front panel and a rear panel. Each two adjacent panels are connected rotationally; the opposite sides of at least a pair of adjacent panels are connected in a separable and rotational manner through fasteners; the base plate is rotationally connected with the bottom part of the left panel, the right panel, the front panel or the rear panel; and support parts used for supporting the base plate are arranged at the bottom parts of the other three panels. The firmness, foldability and similar qualities of the structure are not affected and the storage basket can be folded completely to reduce the occupied area to that of one single panel; and, accordingly, the occupied space of the storage basket is efficiently and effectively minimized.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application is based upon and claims priority to Chinese PatentApplication No. 201711233709.6, filed Nov. 30, 2017, the entirety ofwhich is incorporated herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field

This invention relates to the technical field of storage baskets, andparticularly to a fastener-type, fully-foldable storage basket.

Description of Related Art

Existing foldable storage baskets, each side connected by traditionalfixing fasteners, and having four sides that cannot be openedseparately, have a relatively large area after being folded, and need tooccupy at least an area equal to two sides of the storage basket whenbeing folded, as these baskets can only be folded in half. Therefore,existing foldable storage baskets occupy a relatively large space, asshown in FIG. 1.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aimed at addressing and overcoming these shortcoming of the prior art,this present invention aims at providing a fastener-type, fully-foldablestorage basket that can be opened directly from the side surfaces,without affecting the use of the product. This is accomplished bychanging the connecting modes of each side of the storage basket. Notonly is the basket structure strengthened, but use of the basket productis also made easier and more convenient, particularly as the dimensionsof the basket after folding can be reduced significantly andefficiently, compared to previous baskets, when the basket product isfolded as per the present invention.

The present invention adopts the technical scheme as follows:

A fastener-type, fully-foldable storage basket comprises a base plateand four panels, including: a left panel, a right panel, a front panel,and a rear panel; each two adjacent panels are connected rotationally;the opposite sides of at least a pair of adjacent panels are connectedin a separable and rotational manner through fasteners; the base plateis rotationally connected with the bottom part of the left panel, theright panel, the front panel or the rear panel; and support parts usedfor supporting the base plate are arranged at the bottom parts of theother three panels.

Furthermore, each fastener is of a U-shaped structure with one sidethereof connected with one panel of the connected adjacent panels andthe other side thereof fastened into the other panel.

Furthermore, the support parts are triangular or rectangular and arevertically fixed at the edges of the bottom parts of the panels wherethe support parts are located.

Furthermore, the front panel and the left panel are connected in aseparable and rotational manner through fasteners.

This invention has the beneficial effects that not only are thefirmness, foldability and similar qualities of the structure notaffected, but the storage basket can also be folded completely to havean area of one panel, as adjacent panels in at least a pair areconnected in a separable and rotational manner by adopting a snap-inconnection mode in the storage basket. Accordingly, the space occupiedby the structure is greatly reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a folding schematic diagram of previously existing foldablestorage baskets;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the unfolding structure of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a fastener;

FIG. 4 is a plan sketch of fastener connection of the front panel andthe left panel;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a movable fastener;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a fixed fastener;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of connecting adjacent panels by adoptingfixed fasteners;

FIG. 8 is a structure diagram of a support part;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the first assembling step of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the second assembling step of thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the third assembling step of thepresent invention, that is, a schematic diagram of the invention uponfinal assembly;

FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 are schematic diagrams of the first folding step ofthe present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of the second folding step of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 are schematic diagrams of the third folding step ofthis invention, that is, a schematic diagram of the invention upon finalassembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The features and advantages of the present invention will be furtherillustrated below through a number of exemplary embodiments, providedmerely by way of non-limiting examples, examples that do not limit thescope of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, a fastener-type, fully-foldable storage basketcomprises a base plate (5) and four panels, including: a left panel (1),a right panel (2), a front panel (3) and a rear panel (4); each twoadjacent panels are connected rotationally; the opposite sides of atleast a pair of adjacent panels (the left panel (1) and the front panel(3) in the embodiment) are connected through fasteners (6).

As shown in FIG. 3, each fastener is of a U-shaped structure with oneside thereof connected with one side of the front panel and the otherside thereof fastened in a separable manner into one side of the leftpanel facing the front panel; and the front panel and the left panelaccordingly can be separated. In this embodiment, one opposite side ofthe left panel (1) and the front panel (3) is provided with fasteningrings (7) at the corresponding positions; one side of each fastener isfixed into each fastening ring (7) at one side of the front panel (3),and the other side is fastened into each fastening ring (7) of the leftpanel (1) when the front panel and the left panel are connected, asshown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 10.

In one embodiment, other adjacent panels, namely, the right panel (2)and the rear panel (4), are connected through movable fasteners (10), asshown in FIG. 5; each movable fastener is analogous to a square ring(that is, a panel connection mode as shown in the FIG. 1), so that theright panel (2) and the rear panel (4) can rotate relative to eachother. The rear panel (4) is rotationally connected with the left panel(1), the front panel (3), and the right panel (2), by adopting the fixedfasteners (8), as shown in FIG. 6; each fixed fastener is of a U-shapedstructure with one opened end fixed at a panel at one side and the otherend thereof movably connected with each fastening ring of the panel atthe other side; and the storage basket is configured as shown in FIG. 7,following the connection.

The base plate (5) is rotationally connected with the bottom part of theleft panel (1), the right panel (2), the front panel (3) or the rearpanel (4); and support parts (9) used for supporting the base plate arearranged at the bottom edge of the other three panels. In oneembodiment, the base plate (5) is rotationally connected with the bottompart of the rear panel (4) by adopting a connection mode as shown in theFIG. 7 through the fixed fasteners (8), as shown in FIG. 6.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, each support part (9) can be in anyshape, such as a triangle or a rectangle, and is vertically fixed at theedge of the bottom part of the rear panel (4).

Methods of use of the fastener-type, fully-foldable storage basketinclude:

A method of assembly for when the storage basket is to be assembled foruse comprises:

Step 1, lift up the base plate and stack the base plate and the rearpanel (as shown in FIG. 9);

Step 2, rotate each panel until the separable front panel and left panelare connected. At that moment, fasten the front panel and the left panelthrough the fasteners (as shown in FIG. 10); and

Step 3, lay down the base plate, and support the base plate by using thesupport parts at the bottom parts of the front panel, the left panel andthe right panel (as shown in FIG. 11), wherein the assembly is nowcomplete, and the fastener-type, fully-foldable storage basket can beused as a storage basket.

A method of use for when the storage basket needs to be folded awaycomprises:

Step 1, lift up the base plate (according to the direction shown by thearrowhead in FIG. 12) until the base plate and the rear panel arestacked (as shown in FIG. 13);

Step 2, extract the fasteners from one side of the left panel to enablethe front panel and the left panel to be separated from each other (asshown in FIG. 14); then rotate the front panel and the left panel(according to the direction shown by the arrowhead in FIG. 14); and

Step 3, stack each panel (per the direction shown by the arrowhead inFIG. 15) until the storage basket is completely folded flat (into theform as shown in FIG. 16). It is observed that the storage basket, afterbeing folded, only needs to occupy the area of one panel, which,compared with the traditional storage basket, saves significant space.

Those of skill in the relevant art will understand that a number ofvariations may be made based on the technical scheme, design idea, andembodiments disclosed above, all without departing from the scope of theinvention as properly articulated in the attendant claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fastener-type, fully-foldable storage basket,comprising: a base plate and four panels, including, a left panel, aright panel, a front panel and a rear panel, each two adjacent panelscapable of being connected rotationally, wherein the opposite sides ofat least a pair of adjacent panels are connected in a separable androtational manner through fasteners, the base plate is rotationallyconnected with the bottom part of the left panel, the right panel, thefront panel or the rear panel, and support parts used for supporting thebase plate are arranged at the bottom portion of the other three panels.2. The fastener-type, fully-foldable storage basket according to claim1, wherein each fastener is of a U-shaped structure with one side of thefastener may be connected with one panel of the connected adjacentpanels and the other side of the fastener may be fastened into the otherpanel.
 3. The fastener-type, fully-foldable storage basket according toclaim 1, wherein the support parts are triangular or rectangular andvertically fixed at the edges of the bottom parts of the panels.
 4. Thefastener-type, fully-foldable storage basket according to claim 1,wherein the front panel and the left panel may be connected in aseparable and rotational manner through fasteners.